Category Archives: Inspiration

It is time to give back. Last August 12, 2017, HPE has given a grant through Rise Against Hunger Philippines to help the civilian victims in the Marawi crisis. We invited non – HPE participants as well, and we were very happy with the number of people who came with us.

My friend, Cathleen, joined the activity as well.

My friends, Cath and Maxine, joined the activity as well.

It felt so good to help, and be a part of this meaningful activity. We have packed more than our target of 500 boxes! Thanks, HPE, for this chance to make ourselves more useful thru this gesture.

There is really no concrete formula to success, but I believe in tricks and hacks to success. Everything starts from a good foundation and good habits, and when combined will lead to success.

Start early. Your mind and body works better, and you accomplish more stuff when you start working in the morning. Office/business hours usually start at 9 am, so start working by 8.30 am at most. In this way, you know you are ahead of everybody, especially in sales, where you have competition. It is more advantageous and more motivating when you know that everybody is still resting while you start grinding. Hype yourself by drinking coffee, munching on a yummy dessert, listening to good music, and thinking positive thoughts.

Always be on time. You can’t be perfectly and consistently be punctual especially in the Philippines, where traffic is terrible, but at least do your best to give time allowance. Target to arrive thirty minutes before the appointment or target time, as it is better to be early than to be late. I allot two hours travel time plus traffic when I go to meetings. If you arrive too early, maximize your waiting time by doing some backend work. Since I’m in sales, I maximize my waiting time by reviewing my planner/to – do list, check and respond to emails, call a client or a business partner, etc.

Stay organized. I am such a big fan of planners and organizers. I write my schedule, my list of things to accomplish, my goals, notes, etc. Inside my planner, I have daily quotes to motivate me each day, and I personalize it to make me more inspired to work. I also use my phone to input my to do’s, so I have an easy access to my list. When you are part of a group pursuit, whether you lead it or not, write down all the details and your own deliverables and make a checklist, so you will not forget anything. Make sure that your plans are specific, measurable and time – bound. Other than making a plan, physically keep your things simple and properly in place, so that you’ll have a clear working space, and you don’t waste time on looking for things because they’re everywhere.

My 2017 Work Planner

Rest & reward yourself as necessary. Do not work your a** off to the point of forgetting to live your life. How would you be able to taste the fruit of your hardwork if you don’t allow yourself to relax and enjoy? Once in a while I travel, pamper myself to a nail and massage spa, and to a salon, and buy something for myself as a gift for a job well done. There is no other effective motivator than your own self.

Never let go of your passion. When you love what you do, it is much easier to move closer to success. Always chase after perfection and set high standards for yourself because you you know you can do anything when you put your heart into it. Be positive, and do not let anybody stop you from reaching your goals.

On the first day of this year, we are still in Hong Kong, and we spent it by meeting our relatives who are living here in Central. We had coffee, shopped a bit, had dinner, walked on the streets of Lan Kwai Fung, and drank Tsingtao. Also today is the first time that I’m wearing my dad’s cool sweater.

Coffee at Starbucks – I was looking for the must – try coffee in Peel Street (Hazel & Hershey), but my cousin said it’s too far.

First photo of the year! – My mom and my cousin

My first photo: Happy Birthday to my cousin, Ate Ann!

First coffee of the year! Toffee nut latte

First heavy meal of the year!

TsingTao – First beer of 2017!

TsingTao – First beer of 2017!

TsingTao – First beer of 2017!

Street art along Queen’s Road…

Lan Kwai Fong – Here we drank beer and passed by a club…

Stockton Club

Love the rose gold shakers and mixers…

Tram

My Trip Book – Read this on the way back to the hotel. I chose this book because I know it is all about love. During this trip, I learned about the slaughtered dog in a Filipino movie, “Oro”. This is very cruel, and it ruined my day.

Today was all about firsts! How fun. I’m excited for the rest of the year. I haven’t really set my resolutions in place, but day by day, I do my best in everything I do, and I just think about love and goodness all the time. Listing down resolutions is a plus, but I believe that those are the basic things to remember: to do your best always, and to do things in love and kindness.

Be faithful. This is the year you hoped to be better. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving that, because you are limitless as long as you believe yourself to be.

This year, my family and I celebrated New Year differently. Different place (Hong Kong), different way (watching fireworks rather than having dinner all night long), surrounded by different people (away from home and now with people from different countries, and different climate (yup it’s super cold here). Last December 31, we went to Harbour City to witness how Hong Kong celebrates New Year, and join the countdown. Of course we strolled around and shopped first. There were lots of people waiting to see the fireworks display. Since we finished doing everything early at 9 pm, from shopping to dinner, we decided to have coffee and tea first before the countdown starts.

On our way home from a very long and tiring day, and from the countdown.

1. Take it a day at a time. You don’t have to know what you’re doing the next day or even the next hour. I’ve learned that the more you think in the future, the shorter the day seems and the months fly past you and you’re left feeling discontent and unsatisfied. It’s almost like everything has been in a blur, and you find yourself saying, “the year went by so fast”, even though you haven’t accomplished much. So do everything in the moment of ‘now’, and cherish each minute like it’s the last minute you have.

2. Let it go. You know nothing is going to change, because you can’t change people unless they truly want to and you can’t change the past either, and the sooner you realize this, you will spend more time being happy than in a constant battle with your mind and your heart. They need to rest too.

3. Take risks. If you never take any, the moment that turned out for the worst could have turned out for the best. This works vice-versa as well, but either way, you will learn from these experiences. You won’t forget how rapidly your heart was beating in these moments and how electric you felt. It will be worth it in the end, trust me.

4. Call up that person that you didn’t spend enough time getting to know, simply because you were too distracted with somebody else or just didn’t feel like you’d become something more than acquaintances. Greet strangers and embrace the idea of diversity. Ask questions about different cultures, morals, ideas, beliefs; educate yourself as much as you can.

5. Go ahead and wear that outfit you keep telling yourself that it doesn’t look good on you. You bought it because you liked it, yes? So, show it to the whole damn world. If you do it with a smile and confidently squared shoulders—even better. You are beautiful.

6. Instead of procrastinating and wallowing in self-pity, get up and do something. Sitting around is not going to do much but make you feel horrible, and you’ll create scenarios that may not even exist or be as big in your head that will cause matters to become worse. You want this to be your year of explosive progress? Set goals and strive to achieve them. You want to look back at the end of the year and say, “I did good”.

7. Spend more time with your family or friends. Build a support system so strong, that you will never feel lonely. In fact, this support system will lead you to feeling content even when you are alone, because you won’t feel the constant need to either be with someone or have somebody who loves you, because you know you’ll have people who love you and the more love you surround yourself with, the easier it becomes to love yourself too.

8. Be kind always and be angry when you need to be. Stand up for the ideas that you believe in and don’t back down from them just because you have a different opinion. Learn to love the sound of your voice when it bounces off the walls of a classroom full of people, because your voice has the power to change a million minds. Remember, you are allowed to feel whatever it is you feel.

9. Go on more road trips or just take a few minutes to be outside by yourself. Inhale and exhale the air around you. Watch the stars, the sunset, the sunrise, the birds flying in the sky, the cars passing by. Walk in the rain sometimes without an umbrella, instead of running. Let the sunlight soak your skin more often. God, isn’t the world itself beautiful?

10. Be faithful. This is the year you hoped to be better. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving that, because you are limitless as long as you believe yourself to be. – This is my favorite, and this basically sums up what we really need to do this year. Don’t let any negativity in.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”

Success comes to those who do not waste time comparing what they are doing with what others are doing; it enters the house of the person who says every day: ‘I will do my best.’
People who seek only success rarely find it, because success is not an end in itself, but a consequence.
Obsession doesn’t help at all, it becomes confused as to which path to follow and ends up taking away the pleasure of living.
The truly rich person is the one who is in contact with the energy of Love every second of his existence.
You must have a goal in mind, but, as you go along, it costs nothing to stop now and then and enjoy the view around you.
At such moments, it is important to ask yourself: ‘Are my values still intact?
‘Am I trying to please others and do what they expect of me, or am I really convinced that my work is a manifestation of my soul and my enthusiasm?
‘Do I want success at any price or do I want to be a successful person because I manage to fill my days with Love?’
Don’t worry about the answers – you can always correct your course
Do that in 2017. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It doesn’t matter how and where you celebrate the new year. What’s important is that you are ready to welcome and embrace the future, and that you do not live in the past. Only take what is important and valuable for you, and leave whatever is not good for you.

I finished this book 2 months ago, and I can say I am able to pick – up a lot of things, but not completely adhere to everything it says. I only followed these methods below.

Empty your bag every night.

According to Konmari, the purpose of this is for you to be able to see every single thing in your bag and make sure that you have everything complete, and throw away all unnecessary stuff like receipts, candy wrappers, etc. when the day ends. This works for me but not everyday because there are times when I arrive home late, and leave really early the next day. In that case, I don’t have time to bring my things out, and in again the next morning. But I like the deed in general.

All coins must go directly inside your wallet or coin purse.

I totally agree with this because I tend to put the coins on top of my side table, inside my pocket, my bag’s pocket, and later on put it in its right place anyway. It’s just a waste of time, and it clutters the spaces.

I used to keep an expandable folder to file the different types of documents stated above, so that when the bill or statement arrives, I can match it with my receipts. Yes it’s a wise thing to do, but I rarely do it. Since almost everything is online or electronic nowadays, it saves me more time to just download apps to monitor my accounts and expenses depending on the frequency I prefer, so I don’t have to manage these in paper.

Let go of the things that do not spark joy. This is the Konmari Method.

The only magic question to ask is if a particular thing still brings joy to you, considering its sentimental value, cost, and everything about it. I have donation boxes where the stuff I decide not to keep all go, so in this way, I still put my things to a good cause. It doesn’t only pertain to material things per se, but all the influences in life such as people, work, and the like.

I keep my life simple, and only entertain the things that spark joy. I do more of what makes me happy.